


My Astoundingly Good Unexpected New Asset

by cailenbraern



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Gen, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Protective Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Has A Heart, even from beyond the grave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-28 15:42:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18759418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cailenbraern/pseuds/cailenbraern
Summary: Takes place post-Endgame and will contain spoilers.After the war was over, and their lost friends mourned, Sam Wilson took up the shield. Partnered with Bucky Barnes, they quickly build a reputation tracking down and taking out rogue Hydra cells.Their latest mission seems to be a dead end until intelligence is dug up that suggests a child may be in danger.A little girl with a price on her head.Bucky needs to work with the Winter Soldier in order to find and save the girl.Instead of pain, he finds healing, and maybe a little help from beyond the grave.





	My Astoundingly Good Unexpected New Asset

**Author's Note:**

> If you think the title's a little weird, hopefully it'll make sense at the end.  
> This is my first finished and published fic in over 10 years so I'm a little nervous. First time posting to this site as well, so I hope I don't mess it up.
> 
> Huge thanks go to @esmereldagrace for encouraging my idea and her support while I struggled to finish the blasted thing.
> 
> Bucky deserves the world. But let's just start with a little happiness.

“Oh, no! Friday, help! My repulsors have lost power. The structural integrity of my Arc reactor is critical. It’s gonna blow!” Morgan H. Stark punctuated her dramatic statement with childish explosion noises as she waved her Iron Man action figure up and down to stimulate an erratic flight path.

The tepee was littered with Iron Man toys and clothing. In the six months following the big battle her mom and dad fought in, the tepee gradually became a shine to her father as well as her imagination playground. Her dad always told her it was important to go into your imagination playground as much as you can.

She missed her dad 3000.

Every day, she imagined her dad would call her out for lunch. Maybe some day, when she was a grown up, she could turn her imagination into a blueprint, and a blueprint into a design, and then she would be able to bring her dad back with her and mom forever and ever.

“Don’t panic, boss! I’ve called Iron Patriot for assistance.” Morgan’s impression of Friday was extremely exaggerated, as children’s impressions often are.

“His name is War Machine! I swear to God, I will sell you to a community college, Fri.”

Morgan looked up as she heard a strange noise outside. A sort of buzzing - no, that wasn’t it. A sort of humming noise. It grew louder in volume as though it was getting closer. She raised her eyebrows, curiosity getting the better of her as she crawled out of her tent to seek the source of the sound.

A tiny drone hovered just outside the tepee. As she studied the device to determine where it came from, something small and shiny dropped from the device to the ground. It resembled a coin, but when Morgan looked closer, the heads side of the coin had landed facing up, and there was an embossed outline of her dad's helmet. Morgan made a quiet, delighted sound, snatching up this new addition to her Iron Man collection.

There was a flash of light, and then there was only an empty tepee.

The drone hummed and floated away from the cabin.

***

“Winter Soldier, this is a bust,” Sam complained over his comms. They were staking another potential Hydra cell, however it looked like someone or something had tipped them off. “No snakes in this nest.”

The venue was a disused subway station. It wasn’t even on the original plans or maps which meant someone went to a lot of trouble to build an underground lair and keep it hushed up.

“Maybe, Wilson,” Bucky replied in his ear, coaxing a deep sigh from Sam. “They got spooked, looks like they bolted in a hurry. If they had to move out fast, chances are they left something behind. Might be useful, might not. Keep ‘em peeled.”

“Lame-ass former Hydra assassin can’t even remember to use call signs over the comms. I’m Falcon.”

“I’m so sorry, maybe it’s all the times Hydra fried my brain. Just remind me again and maybe this lame-ass might remember, are you Captain Falcon or Falcon America?”

“Man, shut the hell up,” Sam grumbled, switching the comms off to concentrate fully on the search.

The pair searched every nook and cranny of the base for the next hour. Sam was growing steadily more irritated and annoyed by the failure of the mission. The final room he had to search in his wing seemed to be someone’s quarters.

There was a simple bed, unmade, and a basin. There were no other fixtures or decorations. It looked more like a prison cell than staff quarters.

He crossed the room to the bed, eyeing the bed sheets with unconcealed disdain. He took a deep breath, then got to work stripping the bed.  
When he had stripped the sheets and hauled the mattress off the frame, he spotted a glimpse of burgundy slotted under slats of the bed frame.

He crouched down and felt under the bed frame for the item, his fingers touching the corner of card paper. A file of some kind. Was this for real? Hydra were using actual physical files instead of going digital?

There was that SHIELD data dump all those years ago. He figured they probably thought it was safer not to have confidential information on a server where any genius can access it. Luckily for him, whatever schmuck was using this room as their bunk didn’t know what a shredder was.

He pulled out the file and opened it. There was a single page, and a block of text. It wasn’t in English, that’s for damn sure. He thought maybe it looked Cyrillic.

He tapped his earpiece. “Think I’ve got something. Need you to check it out. You done?”

“I’m done. I’m near the escalator. Bring it with you and we’ll check it out at base.”

“You got it, Soldier, “ Sam replied, and closed the file. Keeping hold of it with a firm grip, he crossed the room and made sure he was alone in the corridor before exiting the room.

***

_“Imagine I’m a bad guy, and I want something that I can only get if I take you.”_

_“Does the bad guy want me, daddy?”_

_“No, sweetheart. But the bad guy knows your parents love you very much.”_

_“I love them more.”_

_Tony chuckled, his brown eyes sparkling with adoration for his daughter. As much as he wanted to keep her safe, he knew the dangers that came with being a Stark. Unlike Howard, he would take a different approach to preparing his daughter for the eventuality of a kidnapping._

_“Of course you do. So the bad guy knows that if they take you, your parents will do whatever it takes to get you home again.”_

_“But daddy,” Morgan interrupted, “what if the bad guy asks for something really bad. Something that will hurt other people. I don’t think I want you to rescue me if other people get hurt.”_

_“Oh, baby, “ Tony whispered, eyes shut tight to stop his tears escaping. “Don’t you worry about that. I will always save you, I promise you. No matter what, I will save you, and if I can’t get there myself, I’ll send someone else.”_

_“How will I know I can trust them, daddy?”_

_“My God, you’re smart, aren’t you? You definitely got that from your mom.” He stroked a hand over her hair. “Tell them your name. Not your real name. Our secret name.”_

_“But if I tell them, it won’t be a secret anymore. And anyway, shouldn’t they tell me my secret name?” Morgan questioned._

_“Anyone can find out secrets if they try hard enough. But anyone who truly wants to rescue you? They won't waste time arguing with you. The ones that take you, they will know who you are and they won’t indulge your individuality.”_

Morgan stared at the door as she remembered her father’s advice. Back then, it was only a game. Another lap around their imagination playground. She never dreamed something like this would really happen.

She ran her index finger over the embossed image of her father’s helmet. She still held the coin that brought her here. She knew it had been a trick, but right now she needed her dad and the coin's image was the closest she had.  
No one had come to see her yet. She didn’t know where she was or how long she had been sitting in this room.

She wanted her mom.

But she wanted her dad more.

***

“Can you read it?”

Bucky looked up from the file, frowning at Sam across the other man’s dining table. It was a generous offer from Sam to let him have his spare room. Bucky only wished he remembered how annoying Wilson was when he accepted the offer.

“I dunno. Some asshole won’t quit yappin' and let me read it.”

“Fine. Read. I’ll go get you a damn Snickers bar. You hangry as.” Sam got up from the table and walked into his kitchen, leaving Bucky to read the document in peace.

The instructions were in Russian, and he could read it as easy as breathing. What took a little longer was deciphering the code Hydra had used to disguise the order from prying eyes.  
It was definitely orders. The Winter Soldier may have received the majority of his missions verbally, but occasionally in the field, a coded message would find its way to him to inform him of a change of directive or to recall him back to base.

The code was familiar to him, although he had tried to distance himself from Hydra memories as much as possible. It was difficult to cope without the crutch of Shuri or Ste-  
He couldn’t dwell on that now or he would be useless for the next week or so. Wilson kept him sane enough, but he didn’t feel a strong enough bond to share the thoughts that ate away at his fractured mind.

It was just him now. Barnes. Bucky. James? No, not James. A good name, common enough. He wasn’t common. Didn’t deserve a name like that. Not yet, but maybe someday.

He sighed deeply, reading the words again and chipping away at the wall he built up to keep the Hydra memories at bay. The wall was weaker than he thought, and in no time at all he remembered receiving orders from one of his handlers.

No. Not this one. The memory is too old. The code doesn’t fit the words. The translation was garbage. With heavy reluctance, he thought back to December, 1991.

That code was a match. He hastily applied plaster to his mental wall and read over the document with the code in his memory.

The dining table cracked in two under the weight of his Vibranium fist.

Sam rushed back in from the kitchen, surveyed his broken table and said nothing. Bucky had never respected him more.

“So, uh... do I wanna know what that says?” Sam asked, arching his left eyebrow.

Bucky focused on his breathing, the way the Princess taught him.

“It’s an order. A recent one. Dated three weeks ago.”

“An order for what?”

“Kidnap,” Bucky answered before clearing his throat. “They’re plannin' to kidnap Stark.”

Sam’s right eyebrow rose to join the other. “They haven’t heard?”

“They’ve heard, alright. Tony was a massive thorn in Hydra’s side and I bet they’re delirious that he’s gone. This ain’t for him.”

“What, they’re after Pepper? Think she can whip Hydra into shape with her executive management?”

Bucky fixed Sam with an unimpressed stare. “She ain’t a Stark. Not really. They’re after a certain kind of intelligence. A kind they can mould to their will.”

Sam stared back at him, seemingly frozen with horror as the meaning of his words sunk in. A moment passed in silence between them before it was shattered when Sam shoved aside the half of the table nearest him.

“I think you know we need the Soldier,” Sam said, his voice low. “Do whatever you gotta do and I’ll call Rhodes to warn him.”

Bucky gave a tight nod, getting to his feet and stalking down the hall to his room. He took a deep breath then shattered the wall between him and the Soldier.

***  
James Rhodes' phone rang in his pocket, a shrill chirp that burst through the silence of the cabin. Pepper's head snapped up from where she was holding it in her hands, eyes red from tears and her hair mussed from fingers pulling at the strands. She snatched up her phone from her lap, believing it to be hers that was ringing but the screen showed no notifications.

She looked over at Rhodey, her eyes tracking his moves as he pulled out his phone and glanced at the caller ID. The colonel sighed and shook his head at Pepper before answering the call.

“This isn’t a good time, Sam,’ he told the other man, and Pepper stifled a sob. She stood up from the couch, moving over to Tony’s sand table to check FRIDAY’s scans to give her something to do.

Her friend was silent as he listened to the other man on the phone. Pepper watched his expression grow more and more grim the more he listened.

“Thanks for the heads up, Falcon, but I’m afraid you’re 12 hours too late. You said it was Hydra?” Pepper did not stifle her sob this time as she heard who had taken her baby girl. Her baby was in much more danger than a simple ransom snatch. “Morgan disappeared around 11am this morning. We’re trying to figure out how, but FRIDAY didn’t report any intruders on the perimeter. She was playing, and then the next minute, she’s vanished. No struggle, no tracks, nothing.”

“Mrs Boss, Rhodey Rhodes, I’ve isolated a section of the security footage from the timeframe of Little Boss' disappearance.”

Rhodey gently held a hand up to Pepper, his attention on the phone again. “Honestly, you guys are already taking Hydra out and doing a good job from what I’ve heard. You better get her back, safe and sound, do you understand me? FRIDAY, can you also send the footage to Wilson and Barnes?”

“Streaming now, Rhodey Rhodes,” FRIDAY answered as a hologram flew up in between Pepper and Rhodes.

The footage began to play, the angle captured from the porch camera. Pepper sighed in disappointment. They had already watched this as soon as she realised Morgan had disappeared. It showed Morgan’s head peeking out of her tepee, and then she was gone.

“Wait a minute, freeze!” Rhodes put the call on speaker phone and set the phone down. He zoomed in on the frozen footage, following Morgan’s eyeline.

“What is that?” Pepper gasped, leaning closer to the hologram.

“Soldier says it’s a Hammer drone,” Sam’s voice came from the speaker.

“A Hammer drone? Jesus Christ, they’re using Hammer tech? That thing wouldn’t have lasted the journey back. How could Morgan be taken by that thing?” Rhodes questioned, more confused than enlightened. He frowned deeper when another voice spoke through the speaker. This man's voice was cold and deadly.

“The drone is expendable. Its purpose is not to extract, only locate. Its function is complete. The drone is no longer required. I have dispatched the Falcon’s drone to your location. It will locate the Hydra drone.”

“Excuse me? I’m not allowed to touch your guns but you’re allowed to steal Redwing and fly him wherever you want?” Sam interrupted the Soldier, and Rhodes pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration as he listened to the Falcon and the Winter Soldier do what they did best; argue.

“The mission demanded it,” the Soldier replied, matter-of-fact.

Pepper glanced down at Rhodey's phone, her hands gripping opposite elbows and she chewed her bottom lip. “What exactly is the mission, Barnes?” she asked, her tone of voice giving nothing away.

“Extraction. Target: Stark. Protect the target at all costs.”

“At all costs,” Pepper confirmed, her voice firmer.

“So, when Redwing retrieves the Hammer drone, what then?” Rhodes asked, bringing the conversation back to the plan. This time it was Wilson that answered. The Soldier had gone quiet after confirming his mission.

“FRIDAY should be able to analyse the drone and obtain its coordinates of origin. Hydra dispatched the drone from somewhere, and we’re hoping that’s where they’re based. Have FRIDAY send us the coordinates and Bucky and I will go in and rescue Morgan.”

“You better,” Pepper muttered, interfacing with FRIDAY while they waited for the arrival of Redwing.

“We’ll keep you posted, Sam. Thank you both.” Rhodes hung up the call and stepped around the table to wrap an arm around her waist. She sunk back into his comfort, watching Redwing's tracker on the holographic display.

“Hydra, Rhodey! Hydra have Morgan!” Pepper sobbed.

“I know, Pep. But Wilson and Barnes are the best guys to handle them. All we can do is hope.”

***

“You okay?” Sam asked Bucky. His friend was sitting rigidly on the couch, staring straight ahead. He didn’t answer Sam immediately, but the former RAF pilot didn’t press.

“Yeah,” Bucky eventually choked out, though he didn’t make eye contact with his friend and colleague. “I’m sorry for stealing your bird. And for breaking your table.”

“I hated that table anyway. It’s only me in this apartment. Who needs a table that big? Sure, you live here now and you’re a big guy, but no one needs a table for six for two people.” Sam perched on the arm of the sofa, looking across at Bucky. “But damn straight you’re sorry for stealing Redwing. He’s not a toy. He’s got a consciousness and intelligence of his own. And you know what else? He was a gift from Stark. Man had no business making me anything as incredible as that considering he didn’t know me from Adam. But he did, and now... I gotta take care of him because if something happens to him, I won’t be able to fix him.”

Bucky nodded, understanding. The notion of consent was the most important thing to him after everything that had happened in his life. From Azzano, to the train, and everything else after that fall. The guilt set heavy in his stomach for taking what wasn’t his.

“The Soldier took control. It... he was the most efficient asset to retrieve the enemy drone. It... he has a far greater speed, battery life and capability than the hammer drone. Credit to his inventor. Hydra always coveted Stark tech. But after Afghanistan, he was a lot smarter about where his technology ended up. Hydra had to settle for more inferior technology. But I am sorry I messed with your stuff.”

“I know you are, Buck. And I understand your reason for it so I forgive you. You’re remorseful and that’s fine. If you weren’t, then we’d have a problem. But we’re good. I promise. You wanna know something funny? I think it's a real breakthrough.”

Bucky finally slid his eyes up to make eye contact with Sam, his brows furrowed with confusion. “Stealin’ your stuff is a breakthrough? Yeah, that's hilarious.”

“Look, man, I know you hate falling back into the soldier mindset. You got rid of your triggers, and that's a positive thing, but you still feel unable to cope with certain situations without letting the Soldier take over. And that's okay. That's all you've known since you were captured. But something's changed. You notice it?”

Bucky's frown deepened as he tried to make sense of Sam's ramblings. “I'm not followin’ you.”

“You took control! You called the shots!” Sam exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “You may have let the Soldier take over but you were still in control of your actions.”

Bucky let his words sink in, the crease in his brow smoothing out as his eyes widened in surprise. He acted on impulse, without waiting for an order. He felt like jumping for joy. Then he wondered if that was the sort of thing he did Before. He masked his expression, sliding his eyes back to Sam.

“Are you tryin' to counsel me again? You ain’t as subtle as you think, Falcon.”

“Do you know how rare it is for me to get an apology out of your stubborn ass? We’re making progress!”

“Are you sure about that? You’re the one that seems to think apologies come outta asses.”

The two men chuckled, enjoying the camaraderie for just a small moment. Sam hated to interrupt it, but there were plans to be made.

“So how do we play this once we know where we’re going? It’s going to be guarded. Separate exits like last time and we take down everyone we find?”

Bucky shook his head. “I need Captain America,” he said, glancing up at Sam before his eyes moved to the Shield in the corner of the room. “The Cap needs to make a huge distraction so I can slip in and locate the child. If I get caught, Hydra don’t know that the triggers have been removed. I can act along and it may even get me closer to the child. If they suspect anything, I’ll take care of them.”

“Just like that, huh?”

Bucky set his jaw and clenched his jaw.

“Whatever it takes.”

  
***

Anyone who wore a lab coat wanted to look smarter than they were, that’s what her daddy used to tell her when she asked how come he didn’t wear a lab coat if he was a doctor.

The lady that just walked in was wearing a lab coat. She also wore wire-rim glasses, and her brown hair was pulled into a bun at the back of her head.

There was an exception to the rule, because there was always an exception to any rule if you were very creative. A man called Bruce wore a lab coat who didn’t need to look smarter than he was, because he was smarter than her daddy.

She wasn’t quite sure she believed anyone was smarter than her dad but she definitely didn’t believe this lady was anything like Bruce.

“Hello, Miss Stark. I hope you have settled in. This is going to be your new home from now on,” the angry looking woman said, crouching down to grab her hand and snatch the coin from her.

Morgan yelled out in anger, lunging forward to snatch it back but the woman was stronger and pushed her away.

“Lady, my name is Maguna and I found that! It’s mine!”

The woman sneered at her, standing up and dusting off her stupid coat. “Well, isn’t that cute. We know exactly who you are, Morgan Stark. We know who your father was, and what do you know? You were easy enough to trick into picking up this marvellous talisman. You brought yourself here. Your father is dead, Miss Stark. Ironman will not be saving the day anymore. You now belong to us, and we will make sure that you forget everything you are and everything you knew. Hail Hydra.”

“Bite me!” Morgan replied, crossing her arms in defiance.

“Get some rest, child. We begin tomorrow.” The lady left the room and the door lock clicked.

_“Will it be scary?”_

_“Maguna, there will be many situations you find yourself in throughout life that are scary. Fear is something we all experience. I’ve been scared plenty of times, swear to God.”_

_“What do I do if it is scary?”_

_“Well, I’ve always found that as long as you hold on to hope, and you think about everything you have, you can usually find a way through. Sometimes the people you love will help you, sometimes you gotta work it through by yourself. But no matter how scary it gets, keep hold of hope.”_

Morgan was scared and alone, and she had lost her only comfort in this cold room, but her dad’s advice was all she could hold onto or she would lose all hope.

  
***

Redwing had recovered the drone. FRIDAY had scanned the data and obtained the location from which the drone began its journey. Rhodes had sent the coordinates across to Falcon and the Winter Soldier who had already used the time to prepare for their extraction mission.

Although Sam was wearing the Captain America uniform, he had his wings on in order to reach the location of the Hydra base as soon as possible, which meant Bucky had to carry the shield while they flew.

It wasn’t an ideal method of transportation, Bucky's arm and the shield were no light weights, but Sam’s experience kept them airborne and travelling towards the secret base at record speed.

They landed outside the perimeter, taking cover so Sam could stow the wing pack and take back his Shield. Bucky put on his black mask and goggles so he could blend into the shadows easier.

“Mission brief,” Sam said puffing up his chest a little. “I walk right in the front door, do the Captain America song and dance and distract the guards. You slip in behind me, find the girl and get her out. We good?”

“Ready to comply,” Bucky answered, waiting for Sam to take the lead. When the man didn’t move and instead looked a little worried, Bucky realised his mistake. “I mean, we’re good, Cap. Let’s go.”

Sam nodded, taking off at a run towards the building. Bucky gave him a head start before following, knowing his super soldier speed would catch up to him easily enough.

By the time Bucky reached the door, the chaos was in full flow. The building looked like it was formerly a bank, and that was a layout Bucky knew all too well. Captain America was holding his own against the guards in the main lobby, the shield flying true as it took out three or four at a time. It never ceased to amaze him how easily Sam had stepped up to the plate. Bucky used the distraction to sneak stealthily towards the back of the building.

They would be keeping her in one of the vaults. That’s where they always kept him. He kept his back to the wall, quickly shooting a guard who had spotted him before he could sound the alarm, then snuck a look into the corridors. More guards were making their way into the lobby towards the disturbance and Bucky cursed under his breath. He plastered his back to the wall and waited for them to spill out into the lobby before he snuck past behind them.

He stalked down the corridor, ignoring the offices that lined the hallway. The vaults were through the doors at the end of the corridor and unfortunately they needed a keycard to open. He couldn't shoot out the lock, it would draw too much attention. As he approached the doors, he listened carefully over the noise in the lobby. There were footsteps approaching, a pair. He stepped a little way back from the door and waited.

The door opened towards him, that worked in his favour. He could see the shock in the Hydra agents' eyes as they recognised him. That again worked in his favour. He wrenched hold of the door, slamming it hard into a woman’s head, then used his vibranium arm to strike her male companion over the head. They both crumpled gracelessly towards the floor, wedging the door open. Bucky peeked through the gap to check if anyone else was coming and then looked back down to the unconscious agents.

The man was wearing tactical gear and weapons. The woman wore a business suit under a white lab coat. Scientists have higher clearance than grunts. He bent down and snatched the keycard from her neck then climbed over their bodies to get through the doors. There were a number of vaults back here. None of them were guarded so the kid must be holed up around the corner.

Sure enough, as he rounded the corner he saw two guards posted either side of the vault. As soon as they saw him, they reached for their guns but the Winter Soldier was much faster than they were. A spray from his automatic had the guards bleeding out on the concrete floor. He kicked them away with his boots and swiped the scientist’s card on the keypad.

The door rolled inwards and he stepped through, scanning every inch of the room. There was very little to see. No chair, no cot, no furniture of any kind. A small girl, shivering on the floor as she stared up at his menacing form.

He tapped his comms.

“I’ve found her.”

“Good work, Soldier. Don’t wanna rush you there but these guys just keep coming. Luckily War Machine showed up to the party without an invite,” Sam reported over his earpiece.

“Did you seriously expect me to sit out of rescuing my only Goddaughter?” Rhodey was suddenly on the channel. Bucky frowned and muted the comms. He tried to smile encouragingly at the girl before realising he was still wearing his mask and goggles as well as wielding a massive gun. He holstered the weapon, then removed his goggles and mask.

“Is that real?” the girl suddenly spoke, her brown eyes huge as she pointed to his arm. The metal one.

“Uh, yeah. You can look at it all you want but we gotta get outta here, soon as.”

The girl seemed to regard him for a moment, looking him up and down. She climbed up to her feet and stepped towards him, barely reaching his waist. Despite the height distance, she tried her best to stare him down.

“My name is Maguna,” she told him, looking more serious than he knew a child could look

“Maguna?” he repeated, smiling again. “That’s a real pretty name. My name’s...” Barnes? James? Soldier? “Bucky.” To his surprise, the girl started giggling.

“Like the bear?”

“Uh, sure,” he stammered out, not having a clue what she was talking about. “We gotta go, Maguna. You okay to move?”

The girl stepped closer, holding her arms up to the man.

“Carry me,” she demanded, and Bucky could only gape in shock. They were in a hurry though, so he didn’t argue and scooped the girl up with his metal arm. She seemed delighted with this, and immediately began to study the arm. Truthfully it was kinda ticklish, but he pushed it out of his mind. He tapped on his comms with his free hand and pulled out his gun.

“Target extraction in progress. Request cover.”

“Soldier, we’re covering. Now get Morgan the hell out of here.” Rhodes demanded.

***  
The mission was a success. Bucky got the girl out, Rhodes and Sam took out the last remaining Hydra agent and then retreated to the rendezvous point while SHIELD went in and cleared up the mess and arrested any survivors. They decided between them that Rhodey would fly Morgan home, but the colonel ordered both men to come to the Stark cabin as soon as they could.

That's how Bucky found himself driving a SHIELD vehicle towards the cabin while Sam slept in the passenger seat. He was anxious to go back to that place. The last time he was there, he had felt out of place, attending the funeral of a man he had hurt deeply, though not of his own will. One of his regrets had been that he had never managed to apologise to Stark for his past actions. It was left unfinished business. It was something he couldn't work through by himself.

The other reason he was anxious to return to the cabin by the lake was the reminder of the day he lost his friend. Both he and Sam felt the loss of Steve, however it had brought them closer, to a point where he considered Sam a friend, even if he was a punk.

Huh. Guess he really was the perfect guy to pick up the shield.

He drove in silence, the roads getting quieter the closer they got to the cabin.

It was a couple of hours after sunrise when he turned off the road and drove down a dirt track.

Sam stirred as the vibrations from the rough terrain roused him. He rubbed his face and looked out of the window at the scenery. “You play?” he asked softly.

“Yeah,” Bucky grunted, nodding stiffly. “Just… it’s weird.”

“I know what you mean,” Sam replied, smiling at Pepper and Morgan through the windshield as the pulled up to the cabin. They were waiting on the verandah, presumably alerted to their arrival by FRIDAY.

Bucky killed the engine and unbuckled his seatbelt before opening the door to get out. No sooner had he shut the door behind him when a body had pressed up close to him, hugging him tight. He stiffened at the unexpected contact, red hair filling his vision. Danger! Black Widow!

“I can't even begin to thank you, James. You saved my little girl. You brought her home. You have no idea how grateful I am.” Bucky relaxed as she spoke, recognising her as Mrs Stark. She pulled away to look at him and he averted his gaze, unusually bashful.

“That's… I, uh, Wilson helped a little,” he stammered out, and Sam did that shit-eating grin of his when Bucky did something he found hilarious.

“Smooth, Barnes,” Sam teased, accepting Pepper's hug and reciprocating it with more ease than he could.

Morgan had run down to them, stopping in front of Bucky and tapping on his metal hand to get his attention. She thrust an old bear into his stomach and Bucky fumbled to catch hold of it so it didn't fall to the ground.

“His name is Bucky. Like yours. So he should belong to you,” she told him, grinning toothily.

Bucky stared at her, a little baffled and lost for words. He raised the bear up, turning it around to look at it closely. The bear was decades old, worn in places and there were a couple of bald patches on its fur. What really surprised him was the miniature clothes it was dressed in.

He recalled a memory of him standing in a museum. One of his earliest memories in fact. The exhibition was of Captain America and the Howling Commandoes. There was a picture of a man with his face wearing the same clothes that were shrunken down on the bear.

There were tags around the bear's neck. The engraving was worn but legible, and his heart stopped for a moment when he recognised his army serial number.

“Why…” he choked on his words. He cleared his throat around the lump. “Why am I a bear?” he asked, dumbfounded.

“They made bears of all the howlies, ‘cept for Captain America. Daddy had them all when he was a little boy. That's why it's so old. I don't think he'd mind you having it. You rescued me from the bad guys.”

“Thank you, “ he replied, not knowing what else to say.

“You better both come inside,” Pepper told Sam and Bucky, smiling fondly at her daughter.

Morgan led the way, running up the wooden steps and along the verandah to the door. Pepper was close behind and as Bucky followed, Sam sidled up beside him and looked at the bear.

“”Awh, would you look at that! You're adorable!”

“Shut up, Wilson,” he growled.

***  
“I don't understand,” said Bucky, staring at the two items on the coffee table.

The first item was a sheet of blueprint paper. A detailed drawing of his new arm was sketched over the grids, measurements and comments annotated everywhere in Stark's scrawl.

The second item resembled a flash drive, but one that could plug into a phone or tablet.

“Did… did Stark include me in his will?” he asked Pepper, struggling to understand what was going on.

“Not exactly,” she replied, smiling gently at the man. “I've been going through his stuff, trying to figure out what to hold on to and what to let go. It's… difficult. It's taken longer than I thought it would. I came across these… the design for the arm… I honestly don't know if Tony ever wanted you to know that he designed it for you. He sent a copy over to Princess Shuri for her to build and attach it to you. He didn't want anything for it. But that's Tony all over. If he sees something he feels is a bad build, he can't rest until he's improved it. There is now a branch of Stark Industries dedicated to developing prosthetic limbs to amputees. Between you and Rhodey, he couldn't rest until he invented a solution.  
The other thing, I know he wanted to give to you eventually. He didn't regret getting angry in Siberia, but he did regret misplacing that anger on you. He, again, wanted to help. In his own unique way. Unfortunately, with Thanos, and then your five year disappearance, and then…”

Pepper stopped herself, not wanting to relive the memory of Tony's death.

“You are aware of FRIDAY, James?”

Bucky nodded, at a lost for words.

“Tony had his fair share of trauma, and anxiety attacks. Before FRIDAY there was JARVIS. Both of them helped and supported him when he woke from nightmares or had a panic attack. He suspected that getting the triggers removed wouldn't be the end of your journey, so he wrote a code for your own AI. It can be installed on your phone, or tablet. It responds to your heartbeat and breathing pattern and will attempt to calm you down. He chose Shuri's voice, with her permission.

“That's incredible,” Bucky whispered, eyes stinging. Pepper smiled gently at the man.

“That's my Tony. Everyone always thought he was selfish, but he was the most selfless man I ever met. If it's any comfort, to you, James, he didn't blame you for the death of his parents.”

Bucky jumped to his feet, unable to handle any more. “I… I'm sorry. I can't…’ he bolted from the room and out of the cabin for fresh air.

***

Sam knew Bucky had a lot to parse through over the last 24 hours, so he had collected up Bucky's gifts, apologised to Pepper (“There's no need, I completely understand,”) and said his goodbyes.

He found Bucky in the passenger seat of the car, and climbed in on the driver's side. With Bucky's consent, he installed the AI on Bucky's cellphone.

When prompted to choose a name for the AI, Bucky struggled to think of a name. Although the voice was Shuri's, he wanted to keep the real Shuri and the AI separate. As he was thinking on it, he looked out of the window and saw Morgan waving at him. He smiled serenely, waving back at the girl as he made the decision in his head.

“I wanna call her Maguna.”

 


End file.
